Islamic world
Global community of those adhering to Islam.
The Islamic world, also known as the Muslim world or Ummah, refers to the global community of those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In a modern geopolitical sense, it commonly denotes countries where Islam is widespread, though no agreed criteria for inclusion exist.
- Major denominations
- Sunni (87–90%), Shia (10–13%)
- Largest Muslim-majority country
- Indonesia (13% of Muslims)
- Region with highest percentage
- Middle East–North Africa (91%)
Lore & Background
By his death, Muhammad had become the political and spiritual leader of Medina, Mecca, and numerous Arabian tribes. The Rashidun conquests spread Islam beyond Arabia, reaching northwest India, Central Asia, the Near East, North Africa, southern Italy, and the Iberian Peninsula. The Umayyad Caliphate later attempted two failed sieges of Constantinople.
Reader's Guide
The Islamic world has profoundly shaped global history through early conquests that established the Umayyad Caliphate across three continents, and through later empires such as the Abbasids, Fatimids, Seljukids, Mughals, Safavids, and Ottomans. During the Islamic Golden Age, advances were made in arts, science, medicine, philosophy, law, economics, and technology. In the modern era, most of the Muslim world came under European colonial domination; post-colonial nation states have adopted varied political and economic models, affected by both secular and religious trends. The term 'Muslim world' has been criticized as simplistic and binary, since no state is religiously homogeneous, and the idea of a uniform Muslim world is imagined. The term 'Muslim-majority countries' is often preferred in literature.
Did You Know?
- India has the largest Muslim population outside Muslim-majority countries.
- Islam is the fastest-growing major religion in the world, partially due to high birth rates; religious switching has no net impact on Muslim population.
- Some OIC member countries—such as Ivory Coast, Guyana, and Nigeria—are not Muslim-majority.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Islamic world?
The Islamic world is the collective term for the roughly 1.8 billion people worldwide who follow Islam, forming a shared religious and cultural community often called the Ummah. It has no single political boundary; rather, it encompasses nations and societies across multiple continents where Muslim faith and practice are central to daily life.
What are Islamic world's powers/role?
With over a quarter of humanity as adherents and a combined purchasing-power GDP around $24 trillion, the Islamic world carries enormous demographic and economic weight on the global stage. Its historical contributions during the Golden Age in fields like medicine, mathematics, and philosophy shaped civilizations far beyond its borders.
Why is Islamic world important?
As the second-largest religious grouping on Earth, it influences international politics, trade, and culture in ways that affect virtually every nation. Its internal diversity—spanning from Indonesia to Morocco and beyond—makes it a critical lens for understanding how a single faith can generate a wide spectrum of societies.
What are Islamic world's major factions?
The community is primarily divided between Sunni Muslims (roughly 87–90%) and Shia Muslims (roughly 10–13%), a split rooted in early succession disputes after the Prophet Muhammad's death. Within each branch, numerous sub-schools of law and theology further diversify the community's internal landscape.
More in Abrahamic Religions & Criticism 1-24
Elsewhere in the Abrahamic Religions & Criticism universe
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record